Clinton Endorsement 'Mistake' By Mayor Garcetti's Office Unlikely To Spur Investigation
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Mayor Eric Garcetti's botched endorsement of Hillary Clinton could prompt an ethics investigation, but such a move remains unlikely, according to analysts.
Garcetti officially endorsed Clinton's presidential campaign Thursday afternoon, but the announcement became a political fiasco when it was issued by the mayor's office and then quickly retracted.
The mayor's press office at City Hall issued a news release around 1 p.m. with a statement from Garcetti endorsing Clinton.
About an hour later, Garcetti's office issued the following retraction: "Today's statement on Hillary Clinton was sent in error."
No additional explanation or clarification was provided.
Garcetti's campaign strategist Bill Carrick later told City News Service the endorsement announcement was "inadvertently" sent out by the mayor's office.
"Somebody made a mistake," Carrick said, adding that Garcetti's endorsement of Clinton was still valid, but the announcement should not have been issued by the mayor's office.
Since the announcement may likely have been in violation of state and local rules prohibiting the use of public resources for campaign purposes, the Los Angeles Ethics Commission could decide to look into the matter.
But Dan Schnur, head of USC's Jess Unruh Institute of Politics, told KNX 1070's Claudia Peschiutta such a move is unlikely given that Garcetti's office quickly corrected the problem by rescinding the announcement.
"The fact that they didn't try to defend the indefensible certainly helps, but the fact is that they did use general resources for political purposes," said Schnur.
The endorsement was later sent out by Garcetti's reelection campaign.
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